A matter of perspective
by Alex Matheson Monroe
Summary: A Charloe story that starts at the end of episode S02E03. Charlie starts to see Monroe a little differently and it's a long trip to Willoughby. Bass x Charlie Charlie x Bass


"What's the U.S. Government want with this one?" Charlie demanded

"What's so special about that one?"

"Answer the question." Said Monroe, staring at the bounty hunter down the barrel of his rifle.

"Look all I know is these guys, they came up from Cuba. They pay well. I bet you fifty other bounty hunters have those same warrants. Six ounces of diamonds, per head."

"So all that about your dad. That was all crap." Charlie stated

"No, no that was the truth. My dad he, he's a well respected" he smiled "yeah, no, it was crap."

Charlie smirked an said "Well too bad for you I know better then to leave you to follow us." and slid a small blade out of her pocket and cut deeply through the bounty hunter's throat in one clean stroke. He slumped lifelessly to the ground.

When Charlie turned around Monroe was just staring at her with a slightly confused look as he lowered the rifle that had been trained on the bounty hunter.

"So what now?" Charlie asked Monroe, braking his daze.

"I'm guessing Miles is with your mom. Knowing him he is. Your going to go warn him, and I'm coming with you."

"Excuse me?"

"You see this?" He asked, pointing to an image on the bounty note. "Randall Flynn had a ring with this same eye on it. It he's one of these guys, if they're half as bad as what he was, were all in trouble. Hey your family could use my help."

"Do you think they want your help?"

"No, but they're gonna need it."

"Fine we'll go warn Miles, but no promises, hell if I know how this'll turn out." Charlie said half turned and walking to the front of the bounty hunter's carriage. Monroe followed her, hopped up on the other side of the bench, and they rode off.

They were silent for what must have been hours when the shadows started to grow long.

"We should stop and try to make camp before nightfall." Said Monroe

Charlie pulled up on the reins and they cam to a halt. They both got down and proceeded to set up for the night. Charlie unhitched the horses and tied them to a tree while Monroe collected firewood and set up a fire pit. They had a couple weeks worth of food in the back of the carriage that had belonged to the bounty hunters. By the time they sat down to eat it was fully dark. Monroe looked over at Charlie.

"So are we going to refrain from talking the whole way to wherever Miles and your mom are?"

Charlie shot him a sideways glance.

"I know what you must think of me, but The Monroe Republic, all of that, none of it was meant to be the way it was. I never wanted that."

Charlie looked back down at her food.

"You were just a kid when the power went out. You don't really remember what it was like. People were dying everywhere, the government just up and disappeared. Miles and I just sat at our military base waiting for orders for six months before we decided to leave because orders just weren't going to come."

Charlie was trying to ignore Monroe and focus on whatever kind of dried meat it was that she was eating but despite her efforts she found that she was interested in Monroe's story.

"MIles thought your dad knew more about the blackout so we went to go find him. What we found outside of the walls of the base, it changed us. Not all at once but before we knew it we were different people. People killed one another to take their food and supplies and there were no consequences, no police to stop them and no jails to put them in. I just wanted to mind my own business but Miles, well he couldn't. He wanted to do something, to protect people who couldn't protect themselves in this new world, and that was the beginning. We wanted to help Charlie, and maybe there was a better way, and maybe things went bad later on but it wasn't that black and white. We did some horrible things trying to bring order to the chaos after the blackout but wether it was right or wrong, we thought it was necessary, and that meant we had to stop caring, stop feeling, and I think you know how hard that is to come back from."

Charlie whipped her head to glare at Monroe.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Welcome back." Monroe said with a slight smirk.

"Tell me what you meant."

Monroe glanced slightly away.

"That bounty hunter. The way you killed him without a moment's hesitation." He said somewhat softly like he didn't really want to bring in up now that he had.

"I had to kill him. Do you think that if I let him go that he would have suddenly decided that bounty hunting wasn't the life for him and he should just go find something else to do?"

"Hey Charlie…" Monroe had his hands up trying to stop her rant.

"Do you think he wouldn't have followed us to recapture you and capture my mom?"

"Slow down. I don't disagree. Your right of course, but can you honestly tell me that you would have always made that same call? That a year ago when you were first traveling with Miles, if a similar thing had happened that you wouldn't have asked Miles to spare him? That if he didn't you wouldn't have felt angry and sad and sick?"

Charlie stood up.

"I'm going to sleep." She said and briskly walked over to the makeshift bed in the back of the carriage.

What Monroe said had hit her hard. She didn't want to think about it but he was right. She would never have let Miles kill someone like that let alone do it herself. She though back to Jason and how differently she had handled things back then. She was a different person now. One who couldn't afford to feel sympathy for a stranger, just like Monroe said. When she let go of how angry that made her she just felt like everything else she thought she knew fell apart. She lay in the pile of rags and just stared up at the roof lost in though.

She lay there for what seemed like an eternity when she heard sounds coming from the woods, distinctly humanlike sounds. She sat strait up and grabbed the two short swords lying next to her and jumped out of the back of the carriage. There were five of them and they looked to be raiders. She sprang into action the way Miles had taught her. Don't think, just move.

She saw Monroe leap up from the ground and shove a blade through one of the raiders, and in a blur she saw herself do the same, again and again. The movement natural, like a dance, and then it was over. The raiders were all dead. She looked over at Monroe. They were both breathing heavily. Charlie noticed a slight shine of sweat on Monroe's forehead and felt a rush go up through her body.

"You're a pretty good fighter."

Monroe smiled and put away his weapon.

"I almost felt like I was fighting beside Miles again."

"Yeah well he was the one who taught me."

"It shows."

He looked so beautiful to her in that moment and it made her feel altogether conflicted. It must be the adrenalin she thought. She took a deep breath and wiped the blood off her swords.

"We should probably move camp. Just incase they have friends." Monroe said gesturing at the bodies on the ground.

"Yeah."

Monroe threw a pile of dirt on the fire and went over to hitch the horses up to the carriage. They took turns getting what little shut eye they could manage on the move.

By the time the sun started creeping up over the horizon Charlie was sure she had never been more confused in her life. She had been holding on to so much hatred for Monroe for so long. It was the reason she joined the rebels, why she fought and killed with the Georgia Federation. She went to war not to protect anything or anyone, just to kill Monroe. Now though, all of that seemed meaningless. He was sitting right next to her with his eyes closed and his head gently bobbing to the rhythm of the carriage. And he looked beautiful. The thought scared her. He was General Monroe, crazy dictator, her Uncle's childhood friend, but somehow she couldn't stop thinking about how alive she had felt fighting along side him. Monroe wasn't really any worse than Miles. Sure Miles was family but was that really an excuse? Monroe was right about how much she had changed since she left home. Could she really blame him for going too far when if she thought about it it was all to easy to see herself doing the same. The image of Monroe's radiant smile intruded into her thoughts. The way he had casually complemented her skill at killing people. This was so messed up.


End file.
